Waupun High School boys basketball's Marcus Domask drives in towards the basket against Kettle Moraine Lutheran Thursday February 8, 2018 during their game in Waupun. Waupun won the game 55-49. Doug Raflik/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin(Photo: USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)Buy Photo

WAUPUN – A little more than a month ago, the then-undefeated Waupun boys basketball team made the trek to Jackson aiming to extend its season-long roll.

Kettle Moraine Lutheran, however, had other plans.

The Chargers held the Warriors to a season-low in points and handed Waupun its only loss of the season so far. Waupun was certainly ready to see the Chargers again.

“We were definitely looking forward to it,” Marcus Domask said. “They are a great team and we knew that, but we knew if we executed our game plan we could win it and we did that.”

In front of a huge crowd inside the Waupun gym, the Warriors’ defense held Kettle Moraine Lutheran scoreless for nearly five minutes late in the second half and then made enough free throws down the stretch to collect a 55-49 win in East Central Conference action on Thursday night.

It was a much better effort the second time around.

“As a team we had a lot more energy tonight,” said Owen Thuene. “We had a lot on the line. A chance for conference, to share it at least. We had to get this one and we got it done.”

Thuene poured in 19 points and Domask had a strong all around game with 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the Waupun the win.

Yet, it was at the other end of the court where Waupun really made its mark on Thursday.

“Our defense got stronger as the game went on and out of the two sides of the ball, that was the difference maker for us,” Waupun coach Dan Domask said. “The defense effort proves you don’t have to be clicking on all cylinders offensively and you’re going to be all right.”

As much as the strong defensive effort was about how much energy the Warriors expelled on the court and how well they worked together to thwart the Chargers, that may not have been the biggest key to Waupun’s success.

That actually came well before the game ever started.

“We’ve been scouting them, looking at their plays and we know their personnel really well. All of our timeouts we were talking about defense and locking down and we showed that on the floor tonight,” Marcus Domask said. “They have shooters and we have to close out with high hands. They have some bigs that work, but we knew their post moves and knew how to counter it and we did that today.”

Kettle Moraine Lutheran grabbed a 38-36 lead with 6:40 left in the game but the Chargers wouldn’t score again until there were less than two minutes to go.

And with the Chargers scuffling on offense, the Warriors found theirs.

Domask drained a 3-pointer to spark a 12-0 run that gave Waupun a 48-38 lead. Thuene also hit a 3 in that stretch, while Trevor Vande Zande scored on a pair of inside baskets to cap the surge.

“Big momentum shift right there. We were due,” Thuene said. “We were comfortable and still feeling good about ourselves and we were able to hit some shots. We knew it was coming.”

But Kettle Moraine Lutheran found a way to make it interesting,

Taking advantage of Waupun’s struggles at the free-throw line narrowed the margin to 49-47 with 45 seconds to play on Solomon Zarling’s driving layup. Domask was then fouled on the inbound pass and made the first free throw attempt, but came up short on the second.

Thuene, though, won the scramble for the offensive rebound and knocked down four straight free throws as the Warriors held on for the win.

“It’s a battle between the score and the clock at that point and we just had to hit enough to keep it a two-possession game,” Dan Domask said.

The 19 points for Thuene were a season-high for the senior forward, who came into Thursday averaging 11.1 points per game.

“There are some games where certain players just seem to have the open touches and Owen hasn’t been in that situation often lately,” Dan Domask said. “Tonight, I thought the ball found him a little bit more and as a result the performance as far as the point total went up and he is very capable of that on any given night.”

As a result, the Warriors were able to pull out the win.

“We didn’t shoot it real well but we rebounded on the defensive end and (won the game),” Thuene said. “We rallied together and fed off the energy of the fans and got the job done.”

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Waupun High School boys basketball's Reece Homan breaks away with the ball against Kettle Moraine Lutheran Thursday February 8, 2018 during their game in Waupun. Waupun won the game 55-49. Doug Raflik/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
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A Waupun High School boys basketball fan wears a mask to their game against Kettle Moraine Lutheran Thursday February 8, 2018 in Waupun. Doug Raflik/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
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Waupun High School boys basketball fans cheer against Kettle Moraine Lutheran Thursday February 8, 2018 during their game in Waupun. Waupun won the game 55-49. Doug Raflik/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
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Waupun High School boys basketball fans cheer against Kettle Moraine Lutheran Thursday February 8, 2018 during their game in Waupun. Waupun won the game 55-49. Doug Raflik/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
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Waupun High School boys basketball's Marcus Domask shoots a basket against Kettle Moraine Lutheran Thursday February 8, 2018 during their game in Waupun. Waupun won the game 55-49. Doug Raflik/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
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Waupun High School boys basketball's Owen Thuene looks to get around some Kettle Moraine Lutheran players Thursday February 8, 2018 during their game in Waupun. Waupun won the game 55-49. Doug Raflik/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
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Waupun High School boys basketball's Reece Homan shoots a basket against Kettle Moraine Lutheran Thursday February 8, 2018 during their game in Waupun. Waupun won the game 55-49. Doug Raflik/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
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Waupun High School boys basketball's Marcus Domask drives in towards the basket against Kettle Moraine Lutheran Thursday February 8, 2018 during their game in Waupun. Waupun won the game 55-49. Doug Raflik/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
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Waupun High School boys basketball's Reece Homan shoots a basket against Kettle Moraine Lutheran Thursday February 8, 2018 during their game in Waupun. Waupun won the game 55-49. Doug Raflik/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
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Waupun High School boys basketball's Trevor VandeZande attempts to block a shot by a Kettle Moraine Lutheran player Thursday February 8, 2018 during their game in Waupun. Waupun won the game 55-49. Doug Raflik/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
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Waupun High School boys basketball's Owen Thuene attempts a three point basket against Kettle Moraine Lutheran Thursday February 8, 2018 during their game in Waupun. Waupun won the game 55-49. Doug Raflik/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
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Waupun High School boys basketball's Marcus Domask shoots a basket against Kettle Moraine Lutheran Thursday February 8, 2018 during their game in Waupun. Waupun won the game 55-49. Doug Raflik/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
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